Chief Editor:Dr. Arshad S. Malik

Head International Office

Editor:Rumla Tahir

Program Officer

Sub Editors:IO Team and Campus

Focal Persons

Message from Chief EditorIt is with immense pleasure that I present the sixth edition of our biannual newsletter. In this issue, as before, we have aspired to share and document some of the amazing work of our committed and talented faculty, staff and students in our humble attempt to showcase this wonderful institution- a mammoth challenge since so much happens each term.

With our global profile improving; international students and faculty members increasing; research and patent activity budding; and so much happening each and every day, it is safe to say that CIIT has had an exciting few months. And possibly the biggest and best news of 2017 has been Dr. S. M. Junaid Zaidi's (H.I, S.I) preferment to the position of Executive Director COMSATS. We are truly excited to have Dr. Zaidi in this new role and with a brand new Rectorship, we believe that CIIT is stronger than ever and has its best days ahead of it. I hope you enjoy reliving these past few months with us. The entire International Office team joins me in wishing you a pleasant reading!

Dr. S.M. Junaid Zaidi (H.I,S.I) appointed as COMSATS Executive Director

Exciting Release of Times Higher Education Young Universities Ranking 2017 COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT) has once again maintained its position as the country's leading higher education provider, moving up the international rankings by leaps and bounds.

Times Higher Education (THE), came out with the release of the Young Universities Ranking in April 2017 at the Young Universities Summit, hosted at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane Australia, which has CIIT in league of the Top 200 Young and Dynamic Universities of the World. The ranking lists the world's best universities established within the past 50 years across 48 countries. CIIT has also occupied an enviable position in the immediate geographic region by ranking among Top 141-150 in Asia. CIIT was honored with the official ranking certificate on 7th April at the magnificent Queensland Gallery of Modern Art among a gathering of the world's top academic peers and decision makers.

WHAT’S INSIDE…

Comings & Goings P.04

Now at the Helm! P.03

Efforts in-line with UN SDGs P.08

What's Up? P.09

Patent Portfolio P.12

Founding Rector CIIT, Dr. S. M. Junaid Zaidi (H.I, S.I), in recognition of nearly two decades' long contribution to science and technology and higher education, has been appointed as Executive Director Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS). Read his exclusive interview on Page 2.

Arshad S. Malik

C-Gl balNewsletter

Sixth�Edition�(Spring�2017)

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What has your experience of being Rector at CIIT for 19 years been like?It has been an honor to lead CIIT and serve as Rector. It still seems like yesterday when we set out to establish first national IT Institute. My experience has been truly unique and extremely rewarding. I was blessed to work together with some of the finest minds and the most dedicated people in higher education.

Where do you see COMSATS Institute in the next 5 to 10 years?I wish to and definitely will see CIIT listed among the Top 300 World Universities.

What parting message will you give to the students?My advice to all students and children is always to exercise commitment and dedication. The key to success is to persevere. My advice to all is to maintain focus on your ultimate goals in life.

What parting message do you have for the faculty at CIIT?With new leadership come new ideas and new ways of doing things. At the same time, I advise everyone to continue doing what you do best — that is maintain the quality that we have come to expect from CIIT and work hard to excel. Stay true to CIIT core values. Stay abreast with latest knowledge and focus on research and innovation. This is our duty and responsibility as a community of scholars.

What advice would you give to your successor at CIIT?Universities are facing a time of unprecedented change in Pakistan. CIIT is well-positioned not only to respond to tumultuous challenges but to seize new opportunities and I would advise my successor to treat every day as a

new day. Stand resolute in the face of challenges and stay o n t o p o f n e w opportunities as they arise.

How do you fee l about becoming ED? What do you like most about being in this position?I am pleased and honored to b e j o i n i n g a s E D o f t h i s Commission. It is a move up from being an implementer to a policymaker. COMSATS has a lot of potential and I'm glad to have the opportunity to make some valuable and meaningful change.

What is your first priority as the new ED COMSATS? What direction you wish to take COMSATS? I believe COMSATS network has a lot of strength and untapped potential that needs to be exploited. There is a lot that can be and needs to be done. In my term as ED, I would like to work to realize the vision of Prof. Dr. Abdus Salam in true spirit. I will encourage enhanced collaboration among the Centers of Excellence. I am committed to working with thought leaders within the COMSATS member states and worldwide to promote science, research and the central role of higher education institutions in driving new discoveries and technologies in the developing world to bridge the gap with the developed nations.

What and how can CIIT reap benefit of your appointment as COMSATS ED?I assure CIIT of our full support and constant guidance.

Yo u h a v e a l o t o f a c h i e v e m e n t s a n d accomplishments to your name, what or who has been your source of motivation? My dear father remains a constant source of motivation for me.

What has been the biggest challenge in your career so far?Biggest challenge of my career was to make a name and identity for myself in the education sector. When I left civil service to come and work in education I had no prior experience, which is why the first thing I had to achieve was acceptance within the higher education community. Making a name for me and then building my institution up from its humble beginnings to the stature it is today were my biggest challenges.

Exclusive Interview with Executive Director COMSATSThe Editorial team sat down with Dr. S. M. Junaid Zaidi (H.I, S.I) about his nineteen-year long journey as the

founding Rector CIIT and his new appointment as Executive Director COMSATS.

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If you had not been in higher education, what other line of work would you have chosen? If I hadn't been in higher education, I would have been in primary or secondary education. I have always had a passion for the field of education which is why I had left a fantastic career as a civil servant to be in education. So I would definitely have had been in the education sector one way or the other.

What is the one thing you would like everyone at CIIT to know about you that they probably don't know already? A lot of people do not have any idea about the amount of hard work that I have put in all my life and how I spend majority of my spare time till now to learn new knowledge. When I was younger I used to study fourteen hours a day. I'd come home from college everyday and study an additional eight hours. I still manage to spare

three hours each day to study. I try and read new books. I enjoy reading fiction just as much as reading about religion and science.

Favorite Dish: Daal Maash

Favorite Day of the Week: Monday

Favorite Leisure Activity: Listening to Music

Favorite Personality: Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)

Meeting my grandfather for the first time. He didn't live with us. I had traveled to Lucknow India to surprise him. Although he was expecting us, he was taken aback by our sudden arrival. But what was most surprising to me is how he had instantly recognized me.

We are excited and glad to now welcome Prof. Dr. Raheel Qamar (T.I), an eminent scientist, as Rector CIIT. A man of many hats, Prof. Qamar has been Dean of Research, Innovation & Commercialization (ORIC) and In Charge Islamabad Campus. He is a fellow of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences, the apex body of scientists in Pakistan and has worked at the University of Oxford as a Wellcome Trust Fellow with some of the leading scientists of the world.

Prof. Qamar is a molecular geneticist and is considered an authority on the investigation of genetic basis of diseases that are prevalent in South Asia. His pioneering work in population genetics laid the foundation for research in Pakistan. His commendable research work and remarkable achievements in his field have seen him being decorated with the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz (English: Medal of Excellence), which is the fourth-highest civilian decoration given by the Government of Pakistan. We hope and believe that he too will take CIIT to greater heights and do us proud much like his predecessor.

Now at the Helm!

Prof. Dr. Raheel Qamar (T.I), Rector CIIT

News in Quick

CIIT Celebrates 100th Convocation

CIIT held its 100th convocation and awarded graduate and post-graduate degrees to eight hundred & thirty four successful students in a grand ceremony at Islamabad Convention Centre on March 20, 2017.

The Center of Islamic Finance, Lahore Campus successfully completed its 5th Global Forum on Islamic Finance (GFIF) on March 21 & 22, 2017 on the theme of Islamic Finance: The Present and Future

5th Global Forum on Islamic Finance (GFIF)

Favorite Travel Destination: Where my grandchildren are

Favorite Childhood Memory:

French Information Center (FIC), the first of its kind, established in collaboration with the French Embassy, at Junaid Zaidi Library, CIIT on April 19, 2017.

French Information Centre Established at Junaid Zaidi Library

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Comings & Goings

Record-setting traveler Cassandra De Pecol comes to CIIT during her “Expedition 196”

Cassandra De Pecol, popularly known as Cassie, has become the first woman to travel to every sovereign nation in the world, and has accomplished that feat in record time. De Pecol left USA on July 14, 2015 and wrapped up her 196-country tour, in a record-breaking eighteen months. She arrived at CIIT, Islamabad campus on December 16, 2016 to commemorate the second anniversary of Army Public School Peshawar tragedy and deliver a keynote address at the International Seminar on Peace, Trust Building and Sustainable Development organized in association with International Human Rights Commission (IHRC) and Comprehensive Disaster Response Services (CDRS).

In attendance were numerous international delegates of the World Youth Summit for Peace 2016. Among them was Ms. Tatian Speed, a budding young Canadian musician who uses music as a tool to bring awareness to current world issues. Tatiana played melodies on her guitar that were matched by melodious tunes of rubab played by Waleed Tariq, Management Sciences student. Many other peace ambassadors were present including Miss Heritage World Nepal Roshnee Bhattarai, Miss Ethiopia 2016 Tizita Zerihun, Mr. Ersin Faikzade a Turkish singer and Ms. Katerina Polyakova from Switzerland. Mr. Ahmad Nawaz, a survivor of APS attack also made a video call from Brimingham UK, to address all participants and spread his message of peace, love, harmony and hope.

Cassie also planted an evergreen Araucaria on campus grounds as an enduring symbol of her visit and to promote peace and sustainable practice. And what brings us extreme joy is that Pakistan made it to her Top 10 travel destinations list where she mentioned “Pakistan has been the country I like the most and the one I feared the most to visit” and that “Pakistanis are over-whelming and loving”

Foreign Diplomats under training at the Foreign Service Academy Tour CIIT

On February 23rd, a delegation of 25 senior diplomats, representing Europe, Latin America, Asia and the African regions, headed by the Director (Programs) Mr. Sajjad Haider Khan, Foreign Service Academy (FSA) visited CIIT. The FSA is the training arm of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that has been imparting diplomatic trainings to both Pakistani and foreign diplomats since its establishment in 1981. The visiting diplomats were on an academic tour to Pakistan for their 25th Advanced Diplomatic Course from 6th February – 17th March. The visit to CIIT was organized by the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) and facilitated by the International Office.

The visitors first toured campus followed by a session at the video conference room, where after a formal welcome by the Head CPS, Amb. Fauzia Nasreen, a comprehensive presentation on CIIT was given by Dr. Arshad Malik, Head and Ms. Rumla Tahir, Program Officer, International Office. Dr. Imran Syed provided an overview on CPS. Prof. Dr. Mahnaz Haseeb spoke on women empowerment and representation of women in key positions in the higher education sector in Pakistan, a topic that caught a lot of the visitors' interest and attention. Pleased by the session, Mr. Sajjad Khan demonstrated a desire to incorporate interactions with CIIT faculty and research centers as a permanent feature in the FSA training sessions.

CIIT made it into the world's most prestigious young universities list and to celebrate this success Head International Office, Dr. Arshad S. Malik and Associate Professor, Dr. Zahid Iqbal went to Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane Australia to attend the Times Higher Education (THE) Young Universities Summit from 5th-7th April, 2017. The summit saw a round-up of the world's top academic peers and thought leaders. To make the trip more meaningful, the CIIT team visited our partner universities in Sydney and Melbourne in the following week, namely Macquarie University (MU) and Deakin University (DU). The team was given tours of their beautiful campuses and met with key senior officials of both universities. The visit allowed to reinvigorate the spirit of collaboration and cooperation.

Upon our invitation, Dr. Adnan Yusuf, Lecturer at Deakin Faculty of Business and Law made a reciprocal visit to CIIT to conduct a research workshop for our Management Sciences faculty on 21st April. He gave a talk on his award winning Ph.D dissertation “Co-creating Effective and Profitable Customer Solutions." He met with Dean Business Administration, Prof. Dr. Khalid Riaz, Head and Associate Head Management Sciences, and other faculty members to talk about joint research collaboration. Mr. Abizer Merchant, Director, South Asia of Macquarie International also paid a visit to CIIT on 25th April to speak to students about the amazing 'Study Tour' program offered at MU. The 12-day study program combines academic activities with fun extra-curricular activities, to give a taste of studying and living in Sydney, Australia.

Strengthening ties with Australian Higher Education Institutions

A European Affair – Tales from the Diary of a Young Officer A young and active member of the International Office, Mr. Qaiser Nawab, set on a professional development trip through Western Europe, trawling the UK, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands and France from 1st-24th March, 2017. Among many landmarks, Qaiser visited the United Nations Office at Geneva, housed at the Palais des Nations, where he attended a thought-provoking constructive dialogue on the Glass Ceiling. He also visited the Marlborough House in London for a workshop of the Commonwealth Youth Council's “I am ABLE” campaign which aims to promote the interests of youth with disabilities.

His tour took him to several exciting places such as the Permanent Mission of Pakistan to United Nations in Geneva; the European Parliament in Brussels; the Houses of Parliament in Westminster; and the Royal Commonwealth Society. He attended a reception hosted by the Pakistan High Commission in London, on 23rd March, to celebrate the 77th Pakistan Day where he met the High Commissioner for Pakistan in UK, H.E. Syed Ibne Abbas and prominent members of British parliament. On this trip, Qaiser also met with Kainat Riaz and Shazia Ramzan- close friends of Malala Yousafzai who were also brutally attacked by the militants in Swat on that ill-fated day in 2012.

Strengthening of Capacities in Hydro-informatics and Integrated Flood Management in Pakistan- Researchers from CIIT at Kumamoto University Japan

Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) annually offers “Japan-Asia Youth Exchange Program in Science”. This program aims to promote exchanges between young Asian researchers and Japanese researchers in fields of science and technology by facilitating short-term visits of competent Asian youth to Japan for studying and experiencing cutting-edge Japanese technology.

This year, for the first time, this program is being offered in Pakistan. A team of ten members from CIIT Wah Campus went to Kumamoto University Japan using the platform of UNESCO Water Chair for capacity building in Hydro-informatics from 16th-25th January 2017.

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Prime Minister of Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJ&K) meets Rector CIITPrime Minister of Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJ&K), Muhammad Farooq Haider Khan, accompanied by his Minister for Higher, Elementary and Secondary Education, Syed Iftikhar Ali Gillani, visited Islamabad Campus, on 11th April, to discuss areas of mutual cooperation between universities in AJ&K and CIIT.

Rector CIIT, Prof. Dr. Raheel Qamar (T.I) met with the P.M along with the Registrar, Director P&D and HRD and other senior officials of CIIT. The P.M, who is seeking to significantly elevate the higher education system in AJ&K, was really impressed by the journey of CIIT towards achieving excellence in higher education and research in the country and its strong reputation internationally. He expressed his keen desire to open up avenues for joint academic and research collaboration with CIIT to gain from its experience and expertise.

US Deputy Cultural Affairs Officer, Ms. Maureen Mimnaugh paid a visit to CIIT Islamabad Campus on the 30th November 2016. Ms. Mimnaugh was accompanied by Senior Cultural Affairs Specialist, Ms. Nadia Kamran. The newly appointed attaché was warmly welcomed to CIIT and took a stroll around campus to take a sneak peak of the various research labs, academic blocks, facilities and the campus library. After the tour the visitors headed to meet Head International Office where they were joined by several CIIT officials who are deeply engaged with the US and its institutions in one way or the other.

Discussions ranged from CIIT's past engagements with UIUC and NDSU, some new initiatives of CIIT's US Alumni, to future plans for collaboration between CIIT and US HEI's. Ms. Mimnaugh also shed

valuable light on some great US State Government funded opportunities available through the Embassy for universities and agreed to provide guidance in applying for the highly sought after opportunities. The attaché was really pleased to see the enthusiasm of US Alumni serving at CIIT and there were discussions of holding an US Alumni networking evening in the near future.

Deputy Cultural Affairs Officer of the US Embassy Visits CIIT

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Who Else Dropped By?

Mega Delegation from French Universities and Higher Education Networks A 21-member delegation from France visited CIIT on March 15, 2017. The delegation was led by officials from the French Embassy and Higher Education Commission. This group of academics was on a visit to Pakistan and HEC chose to bring them to CIIT and show case our excellent facilities, labs and prolific research faculty. It was for the very first time that such a large French delegation of academics was on a visit to Pakistan and to CIIT. The visiting delegation had fruitful interactions with Heads of Departments from Management Sciences, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Architecture, Humanities and Biosciences. They also met several research scientists who have earned their advanced degrees from different prestigious French universities.

Visit by Eminent Professors from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Chicago, USA

Prof. Munir H. Nayfeh, Department of Physics (UIUC), Professor Irfan S. Ahmad, Executive Director Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (UIUC) and Professor Bulent Aydogan, Associate Professor and Director of Medical Physics Prtizker School of Medicine (UoC) visited CIIT Islamabad Campus from 19th- 24th February, 2017.

Over the course of the week the professors visited several departments and met with several senior officials and key faculty members . They a l so d e l i v e r e d s e v e r a l

informative lectures and talks for faculty and staff on various topics including “3Ds of Innovation in Medical Physics,” “Nanotechnology in Theranostic Applications,” “Multi-function tasking with Si-nano particle based nano-probes,” “Innovation based Nanotechnology Research” and “Preparing the next Generation Engineering and Science Workforce for Local and Global Challenges.” The faculty and students benefited a lot from the lectures and interactions. The academicians inspired some great ideas for innovative research projects. A panel discussion was also arranged at Cubatore1ne entitled “Innovation-based Entrepreneurship.”

7C-Global Newsletter 2017

World Learning Head Visits CIITCIIT hosted the World Learning (WL) Head, Ms. Nadya Karim Shaw, on 12th Jan, 2017 for a meeting with the senior management of CIIT. Head WL was accompanied by CEO of Tele-Taleem, Mr. Asad Karim and

Mr. Imdad Ali, Program Coordinator at WL. World Learning is a US based education and training company with a mission to empower people and strengthen institutions through education, sustainable development, and exchange programs. It is working to develop mutually beneficial partnerships that focus on partners' philanthropic and developmental priorities.

The guests met with Rector CIIT, Prof. Dr. Raheel Qamar, Head International Office, Dr. Arshad S. Malik, Dr. Bilal Zaka and Ms. Rubina

Bhatti. The visiting executives proposed working in partnership under the 'Strategic Partnerships for Higher Education Innovation and Reform' (SPHEIR) funding program of DFID and to develop and deliver in-demand e-learning courses. WL intends to create quality courseware following the latest instructional designs with the involvement of its UK partner, Open University UK. As CIIT has a virtual campus, WL seeks to harness its expertise in course development and delivery. The project will make available online courses that are either part of a regular degree program or independent training modules for skills development.

Iran's Traditional Music Ensemble 'KOOK' Enthralls Audiences at CIIT

To join in the 38th anniversary celebrations of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, the International Office in association with the Iranian Cultural Consulate, organized a traditional musical show on 2nd Feb, 2017. A popular Iranian band by the name of KOOK staged a truly captivating and delightful musical performance to enthrall the audience. The artists played classical melodies on the lute, Persian Tar and flute with the background of the harmonious Iranian Kurdish Frame Daf. Another artist played a Tombak, a one-headed drum, while the singer recited poetry inspired by Allama Iqbal and Rumi.

The marvelous vocal and instrumental presentations were lauded with thunderous claps from the attending faculty and staff. The Iranian Cultural Counselor, Mr. Shahaboddin Daraei also addressed the gathering to give a brief recount of the victory of the Iranian Islamic Revolution. He also talked about the fast progression of Iran's economy and urged the need for the brethren countries to come closer and collaborate in the areas of art, culture, industrial trade, SnT and education, a sentiment that was reiterated by Head, International Office in his closing remarks.

CIIT marked 25th International Day of Persons with Disabilities

Looking around campus, what proportion of faculty members and students would you guess are disabled? On a daily basis when you go out, for work, to the gym, to shop, watch a movie, to dine at a restaurant, what percentage of people you see and meet have a disability? These were some hard-hitting questions we asked ourselves and our students, and were troubled by the unanimous response: very few.

Disabled persons comprise the largest minority in the world and generally are the most marginalized and ignored sections of any society. Hence, in a bid to raise much-needed awareness, the International Office, with the support of the 'Paraplegic Centre Peshawar' and 'Helping Hand for Relief and Development' joined the rest of the world in celebrating the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) on 8th December. The theme of the celebration was 'Achieving 17 Goals for the Future We Want'- a specific reference to UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Among the notables present were Member National Assembly, Mr. Shehryar Khan Afridi ; CEO Paraplegic Center Peshawar , Dr. S. M. Ilyas; Special Athlete and Bronze Medal Winner Special Olympics Los Angles 2015, Ms. Nayab Bibi; and CEO National Forum of Persons with Disabilities, Ms. Abia Akram.

MNA Afridi in his address urged the youth to step up to join hands for the welfare of most marginalized groups of society. Abia Akram, gave a motivational address on rising above disabling challenges. At the conclusion of the seminar, a walk around campus was also organized to generate awareness and empathy among the students and call people to prevent marginalization.

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Efforts in-line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals

In celebration of 71 years of UN, CIIT in collaboration with the UN Information Centre (UNIC) organized the launch of the first UN Corner in Pakistan at Junaid Zaidi Library on We d n e s d a y 1 9 t h October, 2016.

Mr. Asim Iftikhar, Director General (UN), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, inaugurated the corner which will serve as repository of newsletters, journals, reports, magazines and books published by UN systems and its partners on national, regional and global issues.

The model of the corner was originally designed by students of CIIT Architecture & Design department in 2015 and soon identical corners will be set up in universities and UN Offices across Pakistan with sponsorship from the Swiss Agency for Development & Cooperation (SDC). The launch event was attended by several high officials and diplomats including Mr. Vittorio Camarota, Director UNIC and Mr Benedikt Hurzeler, Deputy-Head SDC. The guests autographed CIIT's UN Wall which was painted by students with specially designed messages that reflect the values of the UN and an exclusive poster exhibition was also showcased at COMSATS Art Gallery (CAG) on the theme of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to raise awareness among students and general public and promote the universal sustainable development agenda.

United Nations' Corner Launch & SDGs Poster Exhibition

Career Development C e n t e r ( C D C ) , Islamabad campus, in collaboration with the U n i t e d N a t i o n s Volunteers (UNV) and Aiming Change for Tomorrow (ACT), an I s l amabad-based NGO, conducted an intensive training session for three weeks of March. The 2030 Agenda for sustainable development explicitly recognizes volunteers as key stakeholders to achieve the 17 SDGs and the workshop aimed at encouraging students to be active players in the implementation of the universal goals.

Along with positioning the relevance and importance of volunteering in the context of the post-2015 agenda, the workshop engaged the students in understanding the concept of social action and planning social action projects. The participants were encouraged to identify, plan and offer solutions to problems within the university, community and beyond. They came up with several great ideas for social action projects such as 'indigenous tree plantation campaigns to combat sub-soil contamination and climate change in the country,' 'creating on-campus employment/entrepreneurship opportunities for the local transgender community' and 'minimizing food wastage at university cafeteria by efficiently distributing excess & leftover food among the needy'. All projects received a lot of appreciation by the organizers and will soon be presented to the UNV team for funding and implementation.

United Nations Volunteers' Social Action Workshop

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UN's Human Rights through Cinematography 2016

CIIT united with the rest of the world in observing the International Human Rights Day 2016 by hosting the closing ceremony of United Nations’ 'Human Rights through Cinematography (HRTC)' film festival. HRTC 2016 ran from 15th November till 10th December, throughout the country with the objective of raising awareness and stimulating debates and discussions on basic human rights. The grand closing ceremony was held at CIIT on 10th December, where Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's Academy Award-winning documentary, 'A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness,' was screened.

Minister for Human Rights, Mr. Kamran Michael was Guest of Honor. Director International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights (FIFDH), Ms. Isabelle Gattiker, Deputy Head of Mission European Union (EU), Ms. Anne Marchal, UN Resident Coordinator, Mr. Neil Buhne, UNIC Director Vittorio Cammarota and various members of the diplomatic community attended the screening, which was followed by an interactive panel discussion and a stimulating short question and answer session. Ms. Chinoy recorded a personal message for the audience in which she emphasized the importance and power of cinematography in spreading awareness and eliciting powerful emotional responses from the masses. Alluding to this year's theme “Stand up for someone's rights today,” Founding Rector CIIT also urged the attendees to take action in our daily lives to advance and uphold human rights of the people around us- working at our homes, offices and in our neighborhoods.

What's Up?

British Council UK-Pakistan Partners' Event Comes to CIITBritish Council organized a UK – Pakistan Partners' Event from 24th-26th April 2017. In this regard, an interactive panel discussion on the theme of “Student Experience: Are Students Products or Customers?” was arranged for the international delegates from UK at Junaid Zaidi Library, CIIT on 26th April. Ms. Rumla Tahir, Program Officer, gave a brief overview of CIIT and its engagements with UK HEI's. Head IO chaired the session of really lively and jovial panelists who each had a unique perspective into the topic. Panel discussants included Dr. Fiaz Hussain, Associate Dean (International) Cardiff Metropolitan University, Dr. Aneel Salman, Assistant Professor Management Sciences Department CIIT and Wajid Ali, International Partnerships Manager, University of Reading.

Dr. Hussain recounted his own experience as a young student and those of his own students to emphasize the importance of the student journey. Dr. Salman, a business and economics expert, spoke from the perspective of business enterprises and marketing, ruling the idea of treating students as either products or customers to be anomalous. On the other end, Mr. Ali, as international student recruitment specialist, agreed with the idea of treating students as customers. After hearing the varying perspectives of the panelists a charged debate ensued where CIIT students and faculty spoke candidly about their own personal take on the topic. The UK delegates in the audience particularly enjoyed the debate and were really interested in hearing the viewpoints of the students.

NBEAC's 4th Deans & Directors ConferenceNational Business Education Accreditation Council (NBEAC) organized its 4th Deans and Directors Conference at Serena, Islamabad from February 7th-8th, 2017. The conference annually brings together Pakistan's business academic leaders for strategic level discussions. This year's theme was Business Education and its Context: Points of Convergence and Divergence. CIIT as the proud platinum sponsor for the event hosted a grand welcome dinner for conference participants on 6th February.

Talk by Chief Human Resource Officer Telenor On Friday 17th February, 2017, Mr. Knut Olav Nyhus Olsen, Chief Human Resource Officer Telenor visited Is lamabad Campus to give an interact ive and informational talk to CIIT students on “How to Lead a Successful Career.” The session was choke full of information for the soon to graduate students, a lot of whom were aspiring to one day work at Telenor, one of the nation's biggest and most lucrative job providers. Knut shared some valuable insights into what an interview situation at Telenor may look like and how to stand out from the crowd. Knut, a Norwegian by origin, told the students of his exciting and unconventional career path to demonstrate how not be demoralized by any career set-backs.

Prior to the talk, the guest met senior management officials who apprised Knut about CIIT and our focus on producing work ready graduates with skills needed to succeed in the modern world. Knut made a comment that in his two years working in Pakistan he felt that a lot of the nation's educational institutions, including CIIT, were better than most Norwegian higher education institutions and the workforce is highly skilled and driven.

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Dean Business Administration, Prof. Dr. Khalid Riaz, together with his faculty, invited Ms. Kate Sweetman, a leading business strategist and leadership consultant, educator, author, speaker and former editor at Harvard Business Review, for an exclusive keynote address at the grand welcome reception. Ms. Sweetman's profile is as impressive as it is diverse. She is the founding principal at the consulting firm SweetmanCragun and teaches at MIT's Legatum Institute for Entrepreneurship. She has worked in 25 different countries with renowned world leaders, Fortune 100 organizations and Asian multi-nationals. She was named as an Emerging Guru on the Thinkers50, the first-ever global ranking of management thinkers, by the London Times. During the conference proceedings,

Ms. Sweetman, gave an insightful talk on the importance of entrepreneurs and businesses and provided a uniquely valuable international perspective on leadership and organization. On the subsequent day, Ms. Sweetman visited CIIT, Islamabad campus to closely engage with Management Sciences faculty and students.

Pakistan-US Alumni Network International Climate Change Conference Participants Visit CIIT

The Centre for Cl imate Research and Development (CCRD), Career Development Cell (CDC) and COMSATS Art Gallery joined hands to host a contingent of the Pakistan-US Alumni Network (PUAN), par t i c ipat ing in the International Climate Change Conference entitled 'Changing Minds for Climate Change' on 17th November 2016.

The delegation, comprising of several U.S exchange alumni, visited CIIT as part of the conference outreach project centered on the theme of using art to call for climate action. The visiting delegates were first addressed by Ambassador (Retd.) Shahid Kamal Advisor CCRD and Assistant Professor Dr. Anjum Rasheed, CCRD on Climate Change Mitigation - Best Practices. Later, they engaged with students and faculty members of our Architecture and Design department to paint a mural with important slogans and images on climate change.

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International Students Intern at COMSATS Headquarters

For many students, internships are an important part of their academic journey.

Considered to be a rite of passage to forming valuable connections and

greater career opportunities later, CIIT has begun an exclusive internship program for its many International students at COMSATS Headquarters. The first batch of inductees includes ten postgraduate and graduate students of various disciplines from seven developing countries, namely Bangladesh, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Gambia, Iran, Nepal and Nigeria. They will be working part-time at the headquarters learning critical on-the-job competencies for the duration of their stay in Pakistan.

ED COMSATS has urged the students to best utilize their time to enhance their understanding about this multifaceted commission and act as facilitators for cooperation with their respective countries for the promotion of science & technology in the developing world.

Erasmus+, the higher education program funded by the European U n i o n ( E U ) , p r o v i d e s opportunities for people of all ages, helping develop

and share knowledge and experience at institutions in different countries. This term, CIIT under its bilateral agreement with Middle East Technical University (METU), also known as Orta Dogu Teknik Universitesi, in Ankara Turkey availed the ERASMUS+ funding for some exciting mobility programs.

Ms. Sannah Ejaz, Assistant Professor Department of Architecture, Islamabad Campus was selected for a faculty mobility to spend the teaching period at the METU Faculty of Architecture, Kubbealtı from 17-28th October, 2016. During the two-week period, Sannah designed and delivered an independent unit in Urban Design for the third year Bachelor of Architecture students. She was able to provide desk critique to the students on urban contexts using mapping. Sannah also delivered a guest lecture on 'Urban Realities: The Case of Islamabad' to the faculty and senior research students. The lecture was an insight into the design philosophy, planning and development of Islamabad as the capital city at time of formulation and in the current scenario.

ERASMUS+ Mobilities at Orta Dogu Teknik Universitesi/METU, Turkey

Anas Razzaq of Electrical Engineering, Farooq Rashid of Computer Sciences, and Danyal Wahid of Humanities were among the lucky ones selected, for the student mobility program, to spend a semester abroad at METU from 13th February to 10th June, 2017. The semester abroad provides invaluable opportunities for students to experience foreign cultures, meet new people, improve communication skills, enhance self-confidence, expand their horizons and enrich their educational experiences and knowledge base.

Brand New Foreign Faculty

Dr. Vanisa Surapipith is an Atmospheric Scientist with a PhD f rom the School o f Env i ronmenta l Sc iences , University of East Anglia, UK. She has joined Department of Meteorology as Principal S c i e n t i f i c O f f i c e r. S h e previously worked at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in Bangkok for over a decade. Prior to joining CIIT she was working at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), headquarters in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Dr. Vanisa Surapipith

Dr. Mario Boris Curatolo is working at the Management Sciences Department.

Dr. Curatolo is a highly e x p e r i e n c e d t r a i n i n g consultant having worked on many consultancy projects for several European Union (EU) institutions and public and private sector organizations in Spain, Italy and Thailand. Dr. Curatolo has a PhD in Economics from Aberystwyth University in Wales, UK. Prior to joining CIIT, Dr. Curatolo was serving as Assistant Professor at the College of Applied Sciences in Rustaq, Omán.

Dr. Mario Boris Curatolo

Dr. Young Bae Jun Dr. Young Bae Jun has recently j o i n e d M a t h e m a t i c s Department. He has Ph. D. from the Graduate School, Kyung Hee University, Korea. Dr. Jun is an Emeritus Professor from the Gyeongsang National University. He has worked at the Univers i ty of Alber t , C a n a d a , C u m h u r i y e t University,Turkey, Technical University, Poland and Southwest Jiaotong University, China. Dr. Jun was named in the 8th edition of Marquis “Who's Who in Science and Engineering.”

· Dr. Fazal Ghafoor is an Associate Professor at the Department of Physics, CIIT Islamabad Campus. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Laser and Quantum Optics. Dr. Ghafoor's research interest is in generation of high power lasers and x-ray lasers. Dr. Ghafoor has been granted a patent with the USPTO with the invention titled Generation of high power pulse-laser using field generated coherence.

· Team of inventors including Prof. Dr. Shahid Ahmad Khan, Dean Faculty of Engineering, Prof. Dr.Shahzad Malik and Assistant Prof. Dr. Riaz Hussain, from the Department of Electrical Engineering, Islamabad Campus have been granted a patent in US for their invention titled System and method for uninterrupted communication across black spots for multi interface mobile nodes. The team has devised a system and method for protecting a mobile node against communication loss due to black spots by predicting an approaching black spot and executing vertical handover to an available network.

· A team of inventors, including from Abbottabad Campus Dr. Muhammad Sheraz Ahmad, Dr. Shahid Khattak and from Islamabad Campus Dr. Khurram Aziz, have been granted a patent for their invention entitled Heart Murmur extraction and heart impairments identification using fuzzy controller. Purpose is to overcome the lack of specialized medical professionals in rural and urban medical facilities by disclosing a method and system for acquiring a heart signal from a person, and identifying the nature of a heart murmur through signal processing techniques.

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CIIT ranks among Pakistan's top research driven universities. One of the reasons for our success is that we have effectively branched beyond our conventional role of knowledge dissemination to knowledge creation and innovation. And with a dense population of fervent and active research talent, which yields numerous discoveries with great commercial potential, CIIT is well on its way to applied research. Following is a brief overview of our patent portfolio:

A look at our Patent Portfolio

· Dr. Nadia Nawaz Qadri, Associate Professor Department of Electrical Engineering, Wah Campus together with Klaus McDonald-Maier, Professor Universi ty of Essex/Chief Scientis t UltraSoC Technologies and Dr. Muhammad Yasir Qadri, Co-Principal Investigator at National ICT R&D Fund (Ministry of IT) have been granted a patent in the US market entitled Software controlled data prefetch buffering. This invention relates to a method of buffering data using software based prefetching with minimum logic and power overhead that could be employed in low-end processors for improving throughput.

· Prof. Dr. Robina Farooq and Prof. Dr. Saleem Farooq Shaukat at the Department of Chemical Engineering at Lahore Campus have two patents entitled Novel Sonoelectrolysis for Metal Removal and Recovery of nickel from industrial pickling acid solutions. The inventions are focused on using novel and cost effective methods for the removal of metal contaminants from wastewater to make it safe for consumption and overcome diseases.

· Dr. Muhammad Yar, Assistant Professor for Interdisciplinary Research Center in Biomedical Materials, Lahore Campus has been granted patents both in USA and Pakistan for his invention entitled Dihydro 1,4-Benzoxazines and method of synthesizing the same using Sulfonium salts/ A novel and efficient synthesis of Dehydro 1, 4-benzoxazines using sulfonium salts.

Our Rankings 2017